205 GTI Classic Engine

[Martin L NZ]

Hi there! The engine block of my beloved 1994 205 GTI 1.9 Classic has a crack that leaks water (not oil), which the the local garage says is unrepairable. (I'm getting a second opinion on that tomorrow.) Does anyone know where I might get a replacement engine. Please don't be put off by the fact that I live in NZ. It can be freighted out if necessary. Any other advice would be very welcome. Thanks.
Martin.

[RichardW]

Almost anything is repairable given enough time money tools and skill - where's it cracked?

I imagine a used engine could be sourced in the UK, but you might have to wait...

[CitroJim]

Do you know what caused the crack and whereabouts is it?

I had a 205GTi with a cracked block and that was caused by running it for a long period with no antifreeze, just plain water - not by me I hasten to add!
It was the reason I got hold of it very cheaply... It froze solid one hard winter and did a lot of damage...

The crack was in a place where it caused a cylinder liner to drop and because this area was compromised a repair was not feasible as it could never be guaranteed the liner could be accurately relocated or indeed, would stay put when the engine was running. This may be why your local garage says it's irreparable.

As far as I know, the 1.6GTi (XU5J) and 1.9GTi share the same block. Liners would need to be swapped over along with the sump spacer on the 1.9 engine.

Lesser 1.6 and 1.9 XU engines with alloy blocks should be good to donate a block... The BX GT 1.9 8 valve engine may be a potential donor too...

[Dormouse]

Are you sure it is a crack and not a Freeze Plug.

[CitroJim]

Are you sure it is a crack and not a Freeze Plug.

That's the problem...

As far as I can recall and as far as I can see taking a look at the Haynes, the alloy blocked XU doesn't have any as it's a wet-liner engine and an open casting so doesn't need them... Same as the small TU engines as in my AX...

This results in a weakness as there's no handy core (freeze, welch) plugs to pop out and save the block if the coolant should freeze...

The engines used in all 1.6 and 1.9 Citroen BX models are wet-linered so may be suitable donors... I expect this will apply to the 1.6 engine in the Peugeot 405 and likely those used in the Citroen ZX..

I will check...

[xantia_v6]

Don't forget the 305...

I think that Jim may be on the right track, and the same bare block was used on lesser variants of the engine, which should make it a lot easier to find one.

Has the car spent time in Central Otago or the Southern Alps? I know that it does not freeze at Little River (I live on the city side of Banks Peninsula).

[Martin L NZ]

Thanks guys for your enthusiastic replies. The mechanic concerned simply reported the crack over the phone and I haven't had a chance to eyeball it myself yet. Will do on Monday. I have a welding wizard mate who's going to check it out next week and that may well be the way to go.
I think the block cooked rather than froze. We do get frost in Little River (and lost all our apricots this year as a result) but it was not central Otago level.

I'll report back in a week!

Cheers!
Martin

[CitroJim]

Looking forward to your update Martin and here's hoping that can all be happily resolved